Comments on: ratemydriving.ie http://www.markingtime.org/blog/2005/08/22/ratemydrivingie/ Mark Time. Gather My Thoughts. Talk to myself. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:26:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.1 by: Treasa http://www.markingtime.org/blog/2005/08/22/ratemydrivingie/#comment-4052 Wed, 24 Aug 2005 16:09:33 +0000 http://www.markingtime.org/blog/2005/08/22/ratemydrivingie/#comment-4052 Technically, there's already a report scheme in place called TrafficWatch which I am pretty sure is gone national - you see bad driving, you phone the lo-call number and report it. Theoretically, it should result in a few cautions or the occasional court case. In reality, it's not resulting in a huge number of cases. So I'm wondering whether your name and shame website would be more to vent annoyance or to force driver behaviour change. If it's the latter, how do you think it might work? I'm not sure name and shame would have an impact when the currently minimal amount of policing isn't really having an impact. The problems I see with road traffic policing at the moment is we seem to aim for the easy targets such as the speeding and the tax and insurance - I've been checked for tax and insurance more than ten times as often as I've been checked for anything like a) valid drivers licence b) whether I've been drinking and c) whether I've been speeding. I've seen nothing else being enforced. Not only that, we have largely sympathetic judges who are happy enough to listen to sob stories about needing licences for jobs and not impose driving bans on drivers convicted of dangerous driving. The problem is where I live, speeding is not necessarily the biggest issue, it's outright selfishness. Parking on roundabout approaches. Parking on junctions. No indicators. Stopping on roundabouts. Turning right on a roundabout when you've used the left most lane to get onto the roundabout. Drivers equipped with provisional licences on the motorway. Driving all over traffic islands. I'm sure I don't need to go on with this. Technically, there’s already a report scheme in place called TrafficWatch which I am pretty sure is gone national - you see bad driving, you phone the lo-call number and report it. Theoretically, it should result in a few cautions or the occasional court case. In reality, it’s not resulting in a huge number of cases. So I’m wondering whether your name and shame website would be more to vent annoyance or to force driver behaviour change.

If it’s the latter, how do you think it might work? I’m not sure name and shame would have an impact when the currently minimal amount of policing isn’t really having an impact. The problems I see with road traffic policing at the moment is we seem to aim for the easy targets such as the speeding and the tax and insurance - I’ve been checked for tax and insurance more than ten times as often as I’ve been checked for anything like a) valid drivers licence b) whether I’ve been drinking and c) whether I’ve been speeding. I’ve seen nothing else being enforced. Not only that, we have largely sympathetic judges who are happy enough to listen to sob stories about needing licences for jobs and not impose driving bans on drivers convicted of dangerous driving.

The problem is where I live, speeding is not necessarily the biggest issue, it’s outright selfishness. Parking on roundabout approaches. Parking on junctions. No indicators. Stopping on roundabouts. Turning right on a roundabout when you’ve used the left most lane to get onto the roundabout. Drivers equipped with provisional licences on the motorway. Driving all over traffic islands. I’m sure I don’t need to go on with this.

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